


When

by write_your_way_out



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 06:57:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11709213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/write_your_way_out/pseuds/write_your_way_out
Summary: Last words are overrated. It’s the last moments that count. Everyone dies. It’s just a question of when.





	When

There was a sad peace in knowing you were going to die.

Sure, everyone KNEW they would die eventually. It was the unavoidable asterisk to life, but knowing how, why and when - it was one less thing to worry about. 

 

How: Being bitten in half didn't seem like a fun thing. Eren once compared humanity to cattle, confined in cages, waiting for death. With a wry smile, Ymir wondered if whoever inherited her titan liked beef. 

Why: Because she was too damn selfless.

To repay a debt she wanted no part of. To apologize, to reconcile. To let someone else take advantage of her life. 

When: This was the part Ymir didn't know for sure. No one had told her a set date, nor did they have a reason to. By her estimates, it would be within the next two days.

 

A knock on her cell door split the silence. The door creaked open. Reiner motioned for her wordlessly. Ymir's heart slammed into her chest, adrenaline rushing through her veins. 

She had so much back in the walls worth fighting for. She could have made it. Could've saved her own life. Could have saved Historia. Take it back. There was still time to undo it all: She could run. Her chances of making through titan territory were slim but she was better off there than here.

But she still stood. Still followed Reiner like an obedient dog, head low, wordless. 

They entered a tall cavern. Ymir had never seen it before, but something about it was familiar. Was it the way the rock was polished and smooth? No. It was the chains that hung from the edge of a ledge. Ready, waiting to hook down a victim until they couldn't resist. 

It was just the right height for a titan to reach. 

A set of hands on her shoulders directed her to carved out stairs. Up, one foot after the other. Up, one step at a time. Up, until she stood on the ledge, feet chained down, knees bending, wrists free to be shackled. 

Too late.

She'd realized her faulty logic too late. Even in the sad peace of death, a wave of panic washed over her. There was nothing she could do now, was there?

Ymir closed her eyes. 

When?

Now.


End file.
